Week Beginning 25 May 2020
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The Westcliff Week T: 01702 475443 E: [email protected] W: www.whsb.essex.sch.uk WEEK BEGINNING 25 MAY 2020 PREPARING TO REOPEN THE Lower Sixth and in Year 10. A great deal of work has already taken place and more work will follow SCHOOL FOR PUPILS IN YEAR 10 between now and Monday 15 June. This early work is most helpful in supporting our longer-term plans for AND THE LOWER SIXTH the return of pupils in September. We are planning for the return of all pupils and staff in September Welcome to the ninth issue of The Westcliff Week. although it is, of course, too early to confirm whether I hope that all pupils, staff and their families enjoyed a that will be the position. We shall continue to follow well-earned rest during the Bank Holiday weekend. I and respond to the latest available guidance. am aware that pupils and staff have invested a great deal of effort into maintaining high levels of academic progress during the period of working from home. These superb efforts will enable everyone to ‘hit the ground running’ when we return to a normal way of working at some point in the not too distant future. We are most fortunate indeed that our talented staff and pupils continue to support their School community during lockdown by submitting interesting articles and activities for The Westcliff Week. Thank you to readers for the positive feedback we receive and we hope you enjoy this Half Term issue. I would like to take this opportunity to, once again, I anticipate that all parents and pupils are aware of my thank Miss Lewis, Facilities Manager, and her team of recent letter regarding plans for a limited return to support staff who have done so much to prepare the working at the School for Year 10 and Lower Sixth School. I know they take great pride in their work and students. A copy of this letter can be accessed via the wish to do all they can to ensure the School is fully School’s Facebook page. However, on Sunday 24 May prepared to receive pupils in June and beyond. I the Government announced it has reversed its plan to would ask all pupils returning to School to show partially reopen secondary schools from Monday 1 appreciation for the excellent work of our Facilities June and it published additional advice to secondary Team by ensuring they take care of the School schools yesterday. The Government has now delayed environment and adhere to the guidance regarding the return of Year 10 and Lower Sixth students until use of the facilities provided, for example using bins Monday 15 June at the earliest, and therefore we shall for all rubbish, regularly washing hands and carefully amend the arrangements for the return of those following the one-way routes marked in corridors. It is students accordingly. I anticipate that I shall be in a thanks to the hard work of our Facilities Team and the position to write to parents regarding this matter later wider staff - both teaching and support - that we are this week. Please note that all arrangements will able to take measured steps towards the safe return remain subject to changes following any further of pupils to the School when the time comes. amendments to the Government’s advice. I give all pupils, staff and parents my very best wishes Recently, I wrote about our work to prepare the for the remainder of the half-term break. School buildings for the return of students in the Headmaster 1 The Westcliff Week THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON Due to the mass levels of unemployment, which in the UK increased by 1.3 million in the first quarter, real GLOBALISATION incomes have drastically fallen. Pensions funds have plummeted and many assets have decreased in value Within the last decade, perhaps against economic which, coupled with the reduction in real incomes, has forecast, the world has taken a turn. Prior, due to the led to a mass diminution of consumer confidence. technological developments of the last half a century, People have had to sacrifice material living standards the world underwent unprecedented economic and import less luxury goods in order to preserve change. Borders became free, protectionist measures income. As a result, along with the closing of borders were reduced, global trade surged, and the world to tourists, economies which have previously been economy experienced its ‘golden age of stimulated by export led economic growth have globalisation'.1 However, within the last ten years this struggled (due to the fall in international demand). seems to have slowed down, rather than reversed. Examples include open economies like Ireland and Many reasons have been suggested for this, such as Malta, which are heavily carried by their exports of the the plateauing of transport costs, and many services sector.3 Even larger economies like Germany Transnational Corporations (TNCs) discovered the X- have seen their exports fall by 11.8% in March.4 The inefficiencies and diseconomies of scale that can occur collapse of international demand and degree of through global operation.1 Geopolitical tensions have economic ‘standstill’ can be symbolised by the fact heightened, recently being evidenced through the that US oil prices ‘turned negative for the first time in trade war between China and the US, as the history’.5 US oil firms built up so much spare stock, interconnected web of the global supply chain when demand was so low due to transport being becomes more and more tangled. restricted, various lockdown restrictions, and countries output falling relative to the end of 2019. 1 This slowbilisation has been catalysed by the current This excess supply can be seen by the fall in price of a COVID-19 pandemic. As the economic world in many barrel of West Texas Intermediate to -$37.63. In order developed countries has come to a metaphorical to try and minimise the damage to the industry, at the standstill at the start of the new decade, many believe start of April, OPEC and their counterparts shrunk that the damage created will last much longer than global output by 10% - the largest formal cut ever to the virus itself. be made.5 Globalisation is the ‘spread of products, technology, information, and jobs across national borders and cultures’, and it relies on the ‘interdependence of nations’ [Carol M. Kopp]. As aforementioned, globalisation has greatly decreased in the last decade and it is safe to say that COVID-19 has taken its toll. In terms of international mobility, Heathrow’s traffic fell by 97% in April, relative to the same month of the previous year. Further, air cargo is down by 62% and, based on the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) calculations, trade between countries will deplete by 13%-32%.2 Consumers and whole economies that have recently been so reliant on imports have seen themselves being forced to turn to domestic suppliers. Oil prices fall negative Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52350082 This poses the question, coming out of the crisis, can these economies continue to function in this way without such an event reoccurring? Every economy is now so interconnected and intertwined that a purely domestic issue is almost impossible, as every action has consequences and ramifications across the world. Trillions of US dollars have been spent in stimulus Empty airports as the travel industry struggles packages across the world, such as the US’s $3 trillion Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/06/world/ coronavirus- Coronavirus Relief Package aimed at supplying aid to satellites-trnd/index.html 2 The Westcliff Week ‘the state and local governments’6, and the UK’s Job https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-economic- Retention Scheme, whereby up to 80% of furloughed effects-of-coronavirus-in-the-uk/. Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 workers’ wages are being paid by the state to hold up https://think.ing.com/articles/countries-hurt-most-by-covid-19- the economy. International levels of debt have global-value-chain-shock/ Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 increased greatly as governments attempt to keep https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy- their respected economies from sinking. Dependence tradefigures/german-exports-plunge-in-march-as-coronavirus-crisis- on the global market for a country’s growth has always hits-demand-idUKKBN22K0NM Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 posed its risks, but it could be the forecasted large- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52350082 Date Accessed: scale depressions of 2020-2021 that act as the wake- 19/05/2020 up call to increase protectionist measures and turn to https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-05- more domestic self-sufficiency. We may very well see 16/house-passes-3-trillion-coronavirus-stimulus-package Date our world take a few steps backwards in terms of Accessed: 20/05/20 globalisation. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/05/14/has-covid-19- You may be thinking that all these concerns may be killed-globalisation Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 short term only, but an enduring ensemble of costs to https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain- international and domestic economies is likely. quarantine/start-travel-bubbles-for-low-risk-countries-heathrow- Currently, 90% of people live in countries which have urges-uk-government-idUSKBN22U0XB Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 7 all but closed borders , and the reopening of these is https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/when-cinemas- very much in the relative future. At the moment, theatres-museums-reopen/ Date Accessed: 19/05/2020 governments are discussing travel ‘zones’ and Oliver Hale 12F, A Level Economics Student ‘bubbles’ that only allow movement of people between a very limited selection of countries, and the UK is ready to implement a 14-day quarantine for all 8 incomers .